Vehicle



May 11, 1937. J. c. RENAULT VEHICLE Filed March 23, 1956 2 sheets-sheet 1 JEA /v C. EEA/A UL r BY y ATTORNEY.

May 1i, 1937.

J. C. RENAULT VEHICLE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed March 25, 1936 INVENTOR.

JEAN C. PENAL/L7' ATTORNEY.

Patented May 1l.,` 1937 rATENT orsi-CE VEHICLE Jean C. Renault, Salinas, Calif., assigner .to Farmers MerchantilefCompany, Salinas,

Ualif.

Application March 23, 1936,Seiia'l` No. 70,258

7 Claims.

The present inventionrelates .to improvements in vehicles andhasparticular reference to a movable ffloorfor a Avehicle wherebyjiarm produce or other material disposed onthefloorofthe vehicle may-be easily discharged over an edge of the door.

More particularly it ,is proposed to provide Va movable .'floor .for 4a Avehiclekarranged. ,in `such a manner ,that it will .deliver the Iload over .either sidefof'the vehicle.

`Iifisgfurther proposed '.toprovide r.a movable iloorlin the form ,of `endless conveyors arranged forside .delivery andmadein `sections while .actuated bya common operating means.

."LIt lis further ,proposed `to lprovide suitable mounting and supporting means .for the endless conveyor whereby thesameare enabled tocarry `heavyloads and to Yarrange .operating .means 4in such a manner 'that .the power, whethermanual or motoninay .beapplied at the most advantageous pointior moving lthejfloor as.,a unit.

Itfis further proposed toarrange the .conveyors in. such a manner that .any slack .caused .by .con- Ltinuous wear may be Ireadily taken upby .a .simple operation, without Vthe .use of. any .repair .parts orextras. y

It is afurther object o'fmy'inventionto arrange the sides of the vehiclein such a mannerthat they may be ,dropped from verticaLpositioninto lhorizontal or-any .angular `position ,desiredso as to form a receivingplat'form orchute 'for themate- ,rial .discharged .over 'the .edge .o'f the movable floor.

lIt is .still furtherproposedto arrange the sides of .the ,vehicle ,relative .to '.the .movable ,floor in such a .manner `that if `the floor .is Y.extended Yfor ,taking 4up slack -the side of the vehicleaiected .thereby is .automatically adjusted .with the .floor gsothat the relativepositions .remain unchanged.

Further 4and other .objects and advantages yof my invention will appear asthe specification proceeds.

The preferred ,form .of my .invention .is illustrated. in the,accompanyingdrawings. in -which- .Figure `1 -shows .a .side ,elevation of `a `vehicle made .in `.accordance ,with myinvention, .with the 4lnear side ,lowered andlpartly cut. away .to disclose fthe .floor construction,

Figure .2.a plan .view of the .same vehicle,

Figuresafragmentary.transverse.sectiontaken ,along,line..3.3 .ofFigure 1,

Figure 4 arear .view ofta .rearrcornersectionof the -.vehicle.,

.Figure anenlarged detail view of.the.operat ling ,mechanism for .the .movable Y.floor A.as .seen .in 55 .the ,central portion of Figure l, and

Figure 6 adetail viewof aportion of the conveyor forming the movable floor.

While I have (shown only the preferred form 'of my invention .I wish .to have it understood that various changes or modifications maybe made within 'the scope .oi the .claims hereto attached without departing from .the spirit of the invention.

Referringtothe drawings in detail,.the vehicle I which may be a trailer, a truck, a sled or .any other"kind of vehicleof .anysuitable orhpreferred `construction, is here shown .as comprising two pairs of wheels '2, .axles 3 supported thereby, springs 4 resting on the axles, short 'channelsl supportedby the springs, crossfmembers connecting thechannels'and two main frame members '1 resting on the channels vand extending longitudinally of the `vehicle through the -full length thereof and'in spaced relation to oneanother. These main frame members terminate inthe front and in -therear'in upright members 18 to which the end plates 9 of the vehicle body are attached.

The main frame Vmembers .1 also serveas .supportfor fourtransverse channels I0, I I,I 2 and. i3. 'The channel l0 runs alongthe'front `edge of the vehicle, and has'its flanges turned backward so as Pto form an upper and alower rail for the con- "Veyor 'chains "to 'be hereinafter described. The `channel I3'runs .along the rear edge of the vehicle 'andits ilanges areturned in aforwarddirection. The two channels 'Il and l2-are mounted inthe central portionV ofthe vehicle, back to back, with an intervening space, with the flanges turned .to-

ward the front and Arear channels respectively so vas to form cooperating tracks therewith.

FOurJOngitudinal channels I4, of ,smaller .crosssection than the .transverse channels, extend through the webs thereof, as .shown in .Figure 3, and serve as braces for the entire structure while at the same time vthey-support .twointermediate cross-members l5 and i6 which .support intermediate sections of .the conveyors.

Themovableloor .consists of two eonveyorsections, airontsection .and Aa rear section both of .which are substantially .identical in `form and function. Each conveyor comprises-a .plurality .of .bars |.l,.made in .the ,form .of channels, y.with .the .flat faces out,.and,chains |8.at oppositeends for holding the bars .in spaced .relation and lfor .advancing `the conveyors. .The -chains may be made inany suitable.manner-andare hereshown .as .comprisingtwo .linesof .links .I 9 .pivotally connected bycross .pins vi. 0 ,A each. alternate link of l one .line .being welded `to `the 4end rof `one -of the Vconhandle from either side of the vehicle.

Veyor bars. Rollers 2| are mounted on the pins and are made to ride on track bars 22 placed on the upper and lower flanges of the cross-channels Ill-I3.

Each conveyor is also provided with a central chain 23 in addition to the end chains and constructed in a similar manner, and the upper portions of these chains ride on the cross-members I and I6 respectively.

For driving and tensioning the conveyors I provide two shafts 24 and 25 at the ends of the conveyors and along the side edges of the vehicle, the shaft 24 being the drive shaft and the shaft 25 an idler shaft. The drive shaft is suitably mounted in web extensions of the crosschannels I to I3 and is provided with six sprockets 26, one each for the four end chains of the two conveyor sections and one each for the two intermediate chains. 'I'he sprockets are positioned in alinement with the flanges of the cross-channels so that the chain links may travel in a smooth path from the upper flange over the sprocket upon the lower channel and vice versa upon a reversal of the rotation of the sprocket.

'Ihe drive shaft extends through the entire length of the vehicle bed and is provided with drive means between the two central channels, the drive means comprising a worm gear 21 fixed to the shaft and a worm 28 running transversely underneath the worm gear and being mounted on a transverse shaft 29 which extends through the full width of the vehicle bed and is provided with squared or angular heads at each end so that it may be operated by means of a crank It is apparent that a power drive could be readily substituted for the manual actuation.

The worm gear and the worm are preferably enclosed in a housing 30 disposed between the two central transverse channels II and I2 and the space between the two channels is bridged by a roof 3| which keeps material from falling through between the channels.

The idler shaft 25 is mounted on the opposite side of the vehicle bed and is also provided with six sprockets to pair with the sprockets on the drive shaft in tensioning the chains of the conveyor sections. The idler shaft is supported in such a manner that it can be adjusted for taking up any slack in the conveyor that may develop and for increasing the tension under which the conveyor is held. For this purpose I provide the mounting means shown in Figure 4 which illustrates the rear mounting and is matched by a corresponding front mounting. The mounting comprises a slide 32 having a bearing for the shaft 25 and being guided between twobars 33 xed to the rear cross-channel. The slide has a projecting lug 34 through which a bolt 35 is threaded, the bolt bearing on a lug 36 projecting from the cross-channel so that when the bolt is screwed in the direction of the lug 36 the slide is forced outward and the conveyor is placed under greater tension for taking up the slack. The slide is formed with a slot 31, through which a bolt 38 is threaded into the channel I3 for locking the slide in adjusted position.

The slides 32 of the front and rear channel have extensions 39 which serve as supporting means for the adjacent side 4I! which is pivoted in the extensions as shown at 4I so that the side is adjusted with the shaft and always occupies the same relative position to the conveyor no matter to what position the shaft is adjusted. No adjusting means is provided for the power shaft and its side plate 42 which latter is hinged in extensions 43 of the front and rear crosschannels. If adjustability of the power shaft and the side adjacent thereto were found to be desirable it could, of course, be easily effected in the same manner as on the opposite side of the vehicle except that similar means would also have to be provided for an adjustment of the worm drive and its housing.

The sides of the vehicle may be dropped from vertical to any angular position desired and held in adjusted relation by means of the chains 44. They may be locked in vertical position by any suitable locking means not shown.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description. The vehicle may be loaded with merchandise or farm produce in a conventional manner. The bars of the conveyor are spaced to hold the produce, such as lettuce heads, for instance, while allowing dirt and other foreign matter to drop between the same. As the load increases the heads of lettuce or the like are pressed rmly upon the conveyor and are made to partly interlock with the spaced bars. For unloading one of the sides is let down, either into horizontal position to serve as a platform from which the produce is removed manually or into declining position to serve as a chute. The operator then applies his crank handle to the end of the transverse shaft 29, from either side of the vehicle, and by turning the shaft imparts slow movement to the conveyor which moves as a whole and advances the entire load toward the first side for discharge upon the hinged side plate.

Since the oor moves with equal ease in both directions the load may be discharged over either side edge of the vehicle.

The two sections of the conveyor are rmly supported on the different tracks so that there is no danger of sagging. In case a slack should develop in time it can readily be taken up in the manner described by adjustment of the idler shaft which is arranged in such a manner that the relative position of the adjacent side to the idler shaft is not disturbed.

I claim:

1. A vehicle having an endless conveyor as a floor to receive objects thereon, means for moving the conveyor whereby the objects are discharged over the end thereof, the said means including a pair of sprocket shafts, adjustable supporting means for one of the shafts whereby the tension of the conveyor may be adjusted, and a plate pivoted relative to the conveyor for movement between vertical and angular positions to serve as a stop for the objects or as a receiving platform for the same, the plate being pivoted to the adjustable shaft supporting means so as to partake of any shaft adjustment and to retain the same relative position to the conveyor.

2. A vehicle comprising a supporting structure, two endless conveyors carried thereby to form a oor for the vehicle, the conveyors being mounted in spaced and parallel relation with respect to each other and arranged for movement from side to side of the vehicle, power transmission means for actuating the conveyors mounted in the space between the conveyors, and a roof overlying the power transmission means and bridging across the space between the conveyor ends.

3. A vehicle comprising a supporting structure, two endless conveyors carried thereby to form a floor for the vehicle, the conveyors being mounted in spaced and parallel relation with respect to each other and arranged for movement from side to side of the vehicle, power transmission means for actuating the conveyors mounted in the space between the conveyors, and a roof overlying the power transmission means and bridging across the space between the conveyor ends, the roof being curved in transverse section and elevated above the conveyors to direct material disposed thereon toward the conveyors.

4. A vehicle having an endless conveyor as a floor to receive objects thereon, means for moving the conveyor for discharging the objects over an end of the conveyor, the said means including a pair of shafts, adjustable supporting means for one of the shafts whereby the tension of the conveyor may be adjusted, and a plate serving as a discharge ramp secured to the adjustable shaft supporting means so as to partake of any shaft adjustment and to retain the plate in the same relative position to the conveyor.

5. In a vehicle, a supporting structure, a movable floor carried thereby, a side for the vehicle movable to be converted into a horizontal platform adjacent to the oor, and substantially on the level therewith, and means operable by a person standing in front of the platform for moving the floor, whereby the load carried by the oor is discharged upon the platform under the control of the operator.

6. In a vehicle, a supporting structure, a movable oor carried thereby, a side for the vehicle movable to be converted into a horizontal platform adjacent to the iioor, and substantially on a level therewith, and means operable by a person standing in front of the platform for moving the floor, whereby the load carried by the floor is discharged upon the platform under the control of the operator, the operating means being disposed substantially midway between the ends of the floor.

7. A vehicle comprising a supporting structure, two endless conveyors carried thereby to form a iioor for the vehicle, the conveyors being mounted in spaced relation with respect to each other, power transmission means for actuating the conveyors mounted in the space between the conveyors, and a roof overlying the power transmission means and bridging across the space between the conveyor ends, the roof being made to divert material thereon toward the conveyors.

JEAN C. RENAULT. 

